Rumor: Marvel Is Developing Blade, Moon Knight, and Ghost Rider Series for Netflix

Marvel has had a few setbacks recently in their primetime television ventures, but their Netflix properties are positively thriving, with the acclaimed and highly-rated Daredevil and Jessica Jones both receiving second seasons, and Punishersnagging his own spin-off series from Daredevil's second season, in addition to the upcoming Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Defenders series. Now, yet another report is claiming that Blade, Ghost Rider, and Moon Knight are part of Marvel/Netflix's "Phase 2," and that series for all three heroes are currently in development.

The report comes from Movie Creed Live, who claim that "their sources" have revealed that all three heroes are coming to Netflix with their own series. They will join Jon Bernthal's Punisher for a type of "phase 2," of the Marvel/Netflix universe. It's unclear if they'll join the Defenders or start their own team, although they have all been a part of the comics Defenders with the exception of Blade, so the former seems likely.

We don't know too much about the site that reported the rumor, so take it with a grain of salt, but it seems fairly likely to be true. Marvel will certainly be adding new heroes to their roster to expand the Netflix universe considering their success in the medium, and rumors about Blade, Punisher, and Ghost Rider getting their own Netflix series go all the way back to mid-2015, before we knew that Punisher was joining Daredevil. If I had to guess, I would say that Punisher was a sort of test, to see how dark Marvel could get before alienating their viewers. And if we could watch Punisher go on a huge killing spree and still sympathize with him, we can probably handle Ghost Rider.

We would be very excited if this were true, although it's worth noting that these heroes fall very much in the supernatural realm, while Netflix seems to have the most success with more realistic properties. Daredevil and Jessica Jones have both garnered praise for their gritty, grounded aesthetics, and Daredevil's forays into the mystical realm have been the least well-received aspects of the show. We'll have to see how Marvel handles the Iron Fist series, but I would be a little hesitant about that particular trend. (Plus, I'd hope that they would gender-swap at least one of these heroes or add more female characters, because this would made the ratio of men to women in the Defenders slightly ridiculous.)